Christmas Crisis
by musingmelody
Summary: Who knew that preparing for the Candy Kingdom's Christmas ball would be so dangerous? Can Finn make it home in time to reveal his secret to Bubblegum or will he be trapped outside the Candy Kingdom forever?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: OH MY GLOB no I don't own Adventure Time nor its characters.**

Snow was just starting to settle to the ground in the land of Ooo. Jake and Finn were hanging Christmas decorations around the house and watching the wood stove burn and crackle whilst make shadows against the walls.

"Hey Jake, I'm just about finished with the lights, would you plug them in?"

"Sure man."

Jake and Finn stood back and admired their work, finally finished.

"Dude, our house is so fly. I'll bet that they could even see it from the castle when it's all lit up like this Finn."

"Heck, I'll bet you they could see it from the ICE castle."

"I'll bet you they could see it from Lumpy Space!"

Finn shook his head. "That's mathematically impossible. You can't even see Ooo from Lumpy Space."

"Wanna bet for realsies?" Jake said.

"For cereal. If _I_ win, you have to make me pancakes every morning for a MONTH!"

"And if _I_ win, we have to play Twister at every party we ever throw ever."

Finn groaned. "Aww man, that game is so not fair if you're playing!"

"Exactly."

"Urm…" Finn contemplated, then finally reached out his hand. "Fine."

Jake stretched out his hand to shake Finn's. Before letting go, he suddenly exclaimed, "AND-YOU-HAVE-TO-TELL-PRINCESS-BUBBLEGUM-THAT-YOU-_LIKE-_LIKE-HER!"

Finn shouted in outrage as Jake let go, snorting with laughter. "NO WAY, Man! I can't believe you did that! This is totally lame-sauce!"

"You're right, that was pretty jerky of me, but if you tell her at the Christmas ball we're invited to, then I won't have to force it out of you later. Better sooner than later."

"Hey man, we don't even know if you're gonna win this bet yet."

Suddenly Peppermint Butler came trotting down the path to the tree house looking quite agitated.

"We'll settle this later Finn." Jake said as he and Finn went up to welcome the red and white sugary butler.

"Hey Peppermint Butler, what's wrong?" Finn asked.

"My Princess has asked me to call upon you for a favor." he said, not looking Finn in the eye.

"What does PB need at this time of night?" Jake said squinting at Peppermint Butler.

"Apparently there is a problem involving the candy kingdom and Lumpy Space…" Peppermint Butler stated.

Finn and Jake stood looking at Peppermint Butler with blank looks.

"Apparently the Christmas ball falls on the same date as Lumpy Space Princess's Hanukah party. However the Princess refuses to change the date because there are 8 days of Hanukah and says that any of those days would be fine and only one night of Christmas Eve… so now it's a stalemate and neither one will talk to the other."

Finn and Jake smiled at each other. "Yeah we can help. If you want to get LSP to change the date of the party, we can talk to her," Finn laughed.

"Very well Finn the Human," Peppermint Butler said with extreme dislike. "I will tell the Princess you have accepted her quest. Please hurry, and get to Lumpy Space. Christmas Eve is only in two days."

Peppermint Butler started heading back to the candy kingdom when he suddenly turned around and looked Finn directly in the eyes, "Oh and do be careful," he grinned, "The Princess would be devastated if anything happened to you."

* * *

><p>Princess Bubblegum was teaching a couple of young Tootsie Rolls how to dance for the ball in the courtyard when Peppermint Butler walked by. Everyone said hello to him as he passed, and the princess was astounded by his rude manners when he didn't greet them in response.<p>

"Peppermint Butler!" she exclaimed. The minty candy turned slowly to look at her. "Where have you been all this time?"

"Erm, you know… I was, uh… making final preparations for the ball."

Bubblegum raised her non-existent eyebrows. "All the preparations are done, silly. What were you _really_doing? OH! I bet I know."

The butler got a nervous look on his candy-striped face.

"You were out on a date with Miss Butterscotch again, _weren__'__t__you_?" she grinned.

Peppermint Butler heaved a sigh. "Yes, that's it! I'm sorry for not telling you before, Princess."

* * *

><p>Finn was placing his last tuna and peanut butter sandwich in his pack for the trip to Lumpy Space. He looked around to see Jake laying on his back on the sofa with a pained look on his face.<p>

"Man Finn, I SO do not want to go back to Lumpy Space… it makes me feel all… lumpy… and brings back horrible memories." Jake groaned. "The only reason I'm agreeing to this is because I wanna win that bet more than I want to stay out of Lumpy Space."

"Yeah whatever dude, we're stopping by the Ice Kingdom on the way there though, and then we're headed to Lumpy Space."

Jake grinned at the thought of winning his bet. "It's going to be so gratifying when I see your face when I win the bet; it's going to be so Algebraiac!"

Finn put on his "like like" sweater and then threw on his pack.

"Dude," Jake asked, "What's with the sweater that PB gave you?"

"We're heading to the Ice Kingdom, and besides that, It's snowing outside." He said looking down at the ground.

With that Jake and Finn left and opened the door to head out on their new adventure.

* * *

><p>Princess Bubble gum was in the kitchen getting some milk for a late night snack. "Hmmm, Milk makes me feel so much better during the night when I can't sleep." She looked out her window and gazed at the stars twinkling in the pitch black sky. "I love how the stars look during the winter when the snow has blanketed the ground."<p>

Suddenly she saw what appeared to be the silhouette of Finn on Jakes' back heading to the Ice Kingdom. "Hmm I wonder what those two are up to this late at night." She was leaning further out her window when the face of Peppermint Butler suddenly appeared in front of her.

"WAAAAA!" she screamed, "What are you doing here Peppermint Butler!"

"It would be best if you headed back to your room Highness… for your own safety. There could be people out here late at night who might wish you harm and we can't have that… can we?"

She looked at her Butler for a moment and then decided she would humor him and just go back to her room. "Alright Peppermint Butler, I'll go back, and tell Miss Butterscotch that I know EXACTLY what's happening when I leave this room." She gave a toothy grin and headed up the staircase to her room, leaving Peppermint Butler completely alone.

**AN: This story is co-written by my friend and I. We take turns writing certain parts. ...Mostly she writes while I watch youtube videos and contribute ideas. But I edit because her use of punctuation sucks balls. Thanks for reading! More chapters coming.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey Jake, we're almost to the Ice Kingdom, get ready to eat your words," Finn grinned.

"If we can see it from there it doesn't mean you win the bet, because it's not over until we get to Lumpy Space."

"Humph," Finn pouted.

Jake made his way easily up to the Ice King's fortress at the very top of the Ice Kingdom, and stepped inside with Finn on his back ready to attack the Ice King as soon as he appeared.

"WAAAAHH!" they screamed together.

Finn and Jake looked around for the Ice King but he was nowhere to be found, even Gunter was missing...

"Hmmm... Guess the Ice King had to run some errands?" Jake asked Finn.

"I don't know homie, something doesn't feel right..."

Finn and Jake looked around the Ice Castle and then looked back at each other.

"Dude Jake, I think we should look around for Ice King. Something about this place is giving me the creeps."

"Yeah man, I got the same vibes."

Finn and Jake took their time and looked over the entire Ice Fortress and finally came upon the Ice Kings' room - the only place left to look.

"Look Finn, I'm just as freaked out as you, but there is NO WAY I'm going into the Ice Kings' room. Ain't gonna happen."

"Come on Jake, this is the last place, he's gotta be in here. We'll just take a peek and then leave. It'll take 30 seconds."

Jake looked Finn in the eyes and gave him a slight nod. Finn looked at the icy door knob and gave it a slow turn as he pushed on the door. The door opened ever so slightly and they peeked into the room from the other side. The two of them looked around the room and saw a messy bed recently used, a dresser with all the drawers hanging loose with blue robes poking out of them, a lamp with the shade missing and penguin feathers scattered across the floor.

"Man, Ice King is a SLOB! No wonder he can't get ladies..." Jake hesitated.

"Shhhh man, he still might be in here, keep it down!" hushed Finn.

Finn and Jake slowly made their way into the room and looked around.

"Dude Finn, Ice King's not here either. This is starting to freak me out..."

"Hey what's this?" Finn asked, holding what was in his hands out for Jake to see.

"Looks like white fur and red fabric... What do you think he's doing with that?"

"I dunno man, but the longer we stay here the more I feel like we should leave," Finn said looking around suspiciously.

"Ok then, let's blow this popsicle stand."

"Oh wait!" said Finn as he ran to the window. "Heck yes! You can totally see our Christmas decorations from here!"

"Hey, hey, hey, you haven't won this bet yet Finn, so don't be counting your chickens before they hatch."

"Yeah I know, I just wanted to rub it in that I was totally right."

"Ok sure, now let's get going to the portal so we can leave."

"Hahaha, ok man. Let's rock and roll."

Finn jumped onto Jake's back and made their way to the forest where they would find the portal to Lumpy Space.

* * *

><p>"no No NO!" came Princess Bubblegum's voice from her bedroom. She was looking out on her balcony watching Jake's long legs run towards the forest. "Finn and Jake are obviously going on an adventure! Just two days away from my ball! What if they aren't back in time for..." her voice trailed off. "Oh well." She sighed, "As long as they get back in time. The Candy Kingdom is so boring without the two of them here..."<p>

The Princess rested her dainty hands on the balcony, then placed her face on her hands and heaved a sigh. "Oh Finn, what am I going to do with you..."

Bubblegum looked at the pitch black sky and gave a long yawn. "Well, it's very late I really should go to bed." The Princess left her balcony and started heading into her room. Just as she opened the drapes to enter, she looked back at the silhouette of Jake and Finn. "Please be careful, and please make it on time..." she whispered to herself. She closed her long drapes and plopped herself onto her bed. "I do worry about you guys so when you put yourselves in danger..." The Princess let out her last sigh, and then found herself peacefully sleeping in her dreams.

* * *

><p>Jake and Finn were closing in on the portal as Finn jumped off of Jake's back onto the soft ground of the forest.<p>

"Hey man, I swear that portal was here the last time we used it," said Jake.

"Dude DON'T MOVE!" screamed Finn. Jake froze mid step and looked at Finn.

"Look where you're about to step!"

Jake looked down to see a frog on top of a toadstool.

"Oh... Good thing you stopped me."

Finn let out a small chuckle, "Yeah, otherwise we'd never get to Lumpy Space."

The frog let out a low croak, "PASSWORD."

"WHATEVER IT'S 2011!" shouted Finn, arms waving above his head.

"PASSWORD ACCEPTED," croaked the frog.

As soon as he had finished, the frogs long tongue came and wrapped themselves around Finn and Jake and pulled them into the portal located in the frogs stomach.

"Hey... Jake."

"Yeah Finn?" Jake answered as they were swirling through time and space, making their way to Lumpy Space.

"Do you think that we'll make it back in time for Princess Bubblegums' ball?"

"Is that even a real question? We'll go talk to LSP and then we'll come back. We're still going to have an entire day before the ball even starts," Jake said, rolling his eyes.

"Haha, yeah, you're right. I'm just being stupid and worrying all the chiz."

"Yeah, this adventure isn't even going to take more than a couple hours."

Finn gave Jake a toothy smile to Jake as they both headed to Lumpy Space quite confidently.

* * *

><p>The next morning was the day before the ball and Princess Bubblegum was looking over the dance hall to make sure everything was going to be perfect for the following night.<p>

"Yes, yes. Everything is just as it should be. The decorations are perfect, the sculptures are in place and everything sparkles with red and green." The Princess looked around at the beautiful dance hall and felt a rush of pride sweep over her, knowing that it would take everyone's breath away with just one look. She made her way to the end of the hall and suddenly realized that she had forgotten that she watched Finn and Jake leave last night. "I should go see if they've come home... So that I can make sure thy'll be at my ball tomorrow." The Princess turned on her heel and exited the castle, making her way to Finn and Jake's tree house.

Bubblegum had been over to the tree house many times before, especially for movie nights. But today the thought of going to Finn and Jakes' house made her slightly... nervous. She suddenly had a rush of worry sweep over her and she started to pick up her pace.

"Wait," she thought to herself. "This is silly. Why am I so worried? There is simply no reason for me to worry." But her feet wouldn't listen to her reason; they seemed to be moving even faster, completely ignoring what she was telling them. She looked down the road at the tree house and her feelings got even worse. Bubblegum frowned. "Alright, I'll trust my feet." She suddenly spotted a dark figure in the middle of the road and was stopped by a ragged old tree witch blocking her way.

"Please move tree witch! I just have an awful feeling about Finn and Jake and I have to get to their house soon!" Bubblegum pleaded.

The tree witch stood unmoving and hiding her face but somehow the princess knew she was looking right at her.

"Please! I need to get there now!" She sounded almost insane. But just as she finished, the witch let out a low hiss.

"The one you seek is in great peril, my Princess... The success with this mission he is on will not only determine his success with you, my Princess... but also the survival of the Candy Kingdom and all of Ooo... If he should fail not only will he die, but all of Ooo will simply not be able to survive... His love for his friends and for you will determine the fate of Ooo... Princess... Do not forsake your feelings..."

With that, the witch disappeared in a rush of wind, leaving the princess standing alone in the dirt road and wondering just what the message had meant. "Don't forsake my feelings...? What is that supposed to mean?" She was about to turn around to head to the tree house when Peppermint Butler was suddenly exactly where the witch had been standing just seconds before.

"My Princess, you know you're not supposed to be out here alone. As your butler, I insist you go back to the Castle... Now," he said angrily.

"But I know something just awful-" the Princess stammered.

"NOW, please princess. I'm sorry, but I insist you leave now. I promise you I will personally check on Finn and Jake to see if they are alright."

The Princess mulled over the proposition and finally agreed to go back to the castle. She headed back by herself, believing that Peppermint Butler was going to check on Finn and Jake.

"Something's not right here..." she thought to herself. "I'll have to try again tonight while Peppermint Butler is asleep."


	3. Chapter 3

Finn and Jake made their way to Lumpy Space and landed just outside Make-out Point.

"Dang man, LSP's house is on that other lumpy cloud. We're never gonna be able to get there without a car, Jake."

"I'm not all lumpy now, Finn. I can just stretch us over there."

"...Right."

"But I don't think we should do that right now," said Jake, looking around. "It's pretty dark and the lights are off. I think everyone is asleep. We should try tomorrow morning."

"Well it's a good thing I always have my pack," said Finn, handing Jake a tuna and peanut butter sandwich.

"Yeah! We can just chill here for tonight. We'll start up again in the morning," yawned Jake, laying back on a lumpy tree.

"Sure, but one thing first." Finn made his way to the edge of the Lumpy Land cloud and looked down into the depths of Lumpy Space.

"So can you see our house from here Finn?" asked Jake, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.

In fact, Finn could not, but looking at the stars from the cloud was amazing. He realized that Jake knew he could not and would not be able to see their house from Lumpy Space the whole time that they were making the bet. Jake awaited Finn's reply.

"Yeah man, yeah, you were right. I can totally see our house from here."

"I told you, you'd be able to see it." Jake said, knowing that indeed he could not. "I guess you're going to tell PB that you 'like like' her then?"

"That was the deal wasn't it?" Finn sighed, returning to Jake.

"Well, I'm glad you're finally going to do it man. It was getting pretty hard to watch. I get tired of listening to you mumble 'Bubblegum' in your sleep every night."

Finn glared silently at Jake, but joined him against the tree and made himself comfortable. He was about to fall asleep when Jake woke him up.

"Hey Finn, you awake?'

"Just barely... Why? What's up?"

"Hey I know that you're in love with PB man, but... I don't want you to get your hopes up Finn..."

"Woah, woah, woah, what are you talking about dude?" Finn moved so that he could look Jake in the eye. "What do you mean I shouldn't get my hopes up. You're the one who told me that I have to tell her that I'm in love with her!"

"I know I know! But she's a princess dude! And you're... well you're..."

Finn frowned. "A human... Just a regular guy with no chance at winning the heart of a princess..." He leaned against the tree, gazing up to see a Lumpy cloud looking alarmingly like LSP. "I know Jake, but I'm going to stay beside her, because it's all I know... Even if she doesn't pick me, I'll still protect her and the Candy Kingdom."

"Dude, I know being the last known human is no slice of pie but, if there is a chance that there is another human out there you could be happy with, I'd do whatever I could to make sure that you found each other."

Finn rolled over to look at Jake. "It's alright buddy, so long as we got each other, I'll be happy."

Finn and Jake fell asleep looking up at the stars of Lumpy Space, wondering what the future was going to hold.

* * *

><p>CRASH!<p>

Peppermint Butler's small round eyes shot open and he quickly hopped out of his bed. His blue tailcoat flying out behind him, he zipped out into the hallway and looked down the corridor. A helmet was spinning slowly on the ground, then came to a halt with a metallic clang. The butler narrowed his eyes. He quickly ran up the staircase towards Princess Bubblegums' room. He knocked softly on her wide french style doors.

"Princess? Princess? Are you in there? I thought I heard something in the hallway and came to check on you to make sure you're ok."

No answer. Peppermint Butler flung open the doors with a bang. His eyes zoomed to the royal bed. Beneath the covers lay a Princess-shaped lump, which he stepped toward. The butler flung up the sheets to reveal the lump to be nothing but- Tree Witch?

The witch, playing with her long, luscious blonde wig, grinned up at him. "Now, now, Peppermint. What would the Princess think of you seducing me in her own bedroom?"

The Butler's face contorted in anger and his voice rang throughout the castle. "PRINCESS!"

Cinnamon-Bun and Princess Bubblegum raced out of the castle grounds in fits of laughter.

"Phew! I can't believe we made it!" said the Princess, her face pinker than usual from the run.

Cinnamon-Bun slowed his pace. "I thought we were toast and jam after I accidentally knocked the helmet off that armor," he heaved between breaths.

"Thanks for coming with me, by the way," Bubblegum said earnestly. "I really appreciate it. It's dangerous for princesses to go out at night alone."

"HAHAHA, No problem princess... I always like going to Finn and Jake's. So why are you so worried that you have to go see them at night?"

"I'm not sure yet. Something hasn't been feeling right and I haven't seen them come back from their adventure since they left the other day."

"Well, if you say that we need to go see if they're ok, then I trust you!"

Bubblegum gave a thankful nod as they started close in on the tree house. It was absolutely stunning. Finn and Jake did an amazing job decorating the tree for Christmas. Bubblegum couldn't help but stand back and admire their work. "Next year for sure, I'm going to have these guys help me decorate for my Christmas Ball," she said.

"Yeah this place is AWESOME!" Cinnamon-Bun exclaimed.

"Shhhh!" Bubblegum hissed, "We don't want anyone to know that we were here!"

"SORRY!"

Bubblegum rolled her eyes, "Just come on then. Let's knock on the door."

The Princess slowly approached the door and gave it a firm knock.

"Finn! Jake! Are you guys home from your adventure yet? I saw you guys leave!"

No answer came from the house.

"Guys this isn't funny! If you're in there you'd better open up! It's FREEZING out here!"

Just then the door creaked open.

"Huh," said Cinnamon-Bun. "They must have not locked the door when they left last night."

Bubblegum looked at him but did not say anything. She knew that Finn and Jake were trusting people but she had never thought of them as the type to just leave for an adventure and leave the door unlocked. Someone had been here... and recently...

* * *

><p>Finn and Jake woke up the next morning fully refreshed and ready to go. Finn stretched his back and looked around for Jake, but couldn't find him.<p>

"Hey Jake! Let's go! We gotta get to LSP's house and then get home. The Christmas Ball is tomorrow, and I don't have my Tux yet!"

"Chill out man! I had to take a whiz by that tree. I've been holding that one since we left the tree house."

Finn rolled his eyes as he hopped onto Jake's back. "Her house isn't that far," Jake said as he stretched almost to her door step. "We'll be done in like ten minutes."

Finn jumped off his buddy's back and trotted up to LSP's door and gave the door bell a ring. From inside he could hear the royal family talking.

"Princess, it's your friends, Finn and Jake, at the door. You should go answer it!"

"OH MY GLOB MOM! LUMP OFF! YOU ALWAYS SAY HORRIBLE THINGS WHEN MY FRIENDS ARE OVER!"

"Sweetie, I'm just worried about you, that's all."

"WELL I REALLY LIKE FINN AND JAKE AND I DON'T WANT YOU TO RUIN MY LIFE SO JUST GO UPSTAIRS AND LEAVE US THE GLOB ALONE!"

Suddenly the door opened to a unusually pleasant LSP.

"Hey guys, what's up?" she said.

"Oh, well uh... we're here at the request of Princess Bubblegum to ask you to change the date of your Hanukah party so that she can have her... Christmas... Ball..." Finn's voice trailed off, because the look on LSP's face made him stop.

LSP couldn't look more confused. "Hey Finn. I don't know what Bubblegum has been telling you, but my family is NOT JEWISH! We don't celebrate Hanukah! And I've been planning to attend the Christmas Ball at the Candy Kingdom this whole time!"

Finn and Jake looked at each other, equally confused. "So you're NOT in a huge fight with PB?" Jake asked for confirmation.

"The only fight I've had recently is with TIFFANY-about-her-taking-Brad-for-granted-and-not-treating-him-like-the-sexy-hot-lump-that-he-is-especially-compared-to-how-I-"

"YEAH YEAH WHATEVER so you and Bubblegum are cool?" Finn interrupted.

"Oh yeah," LSP said, crossing her arms. "We're like, totally best friends. Unlike TIFF-"

"Yeah okay thanks!" Jake cut her off, slamming the door in LSP's face without regard.

As they descended the royal house's lumpy front steps, Finn turned to his best friend. "If Lumpy Space Princess isn't fighting with PB over the date of the ball, then why did Peppermint Butler tell us that and ask us to help?"

"I dunno, homie. I always thought that guy had his stripes on backwards."

"Do you think that something is wrong back home?" Finn frowned.

"I'm not sure, but we should go back as soon as we can bro, and find out just what Peppermint Butler is scheming."

"Challenge accepted."

"What?"

"Nothing. Let's party."

Finn and Jake headed back to LSP's house to knock on the door again, but this time LSP answered the door before they even made it up the steps.

"So I'm guessing you guys need a way back to the Candy Kingdom huh?"

"Uhhhh yeah. LSP, could you help us out with that?" Finn pleaded.

"Yeah whatever. Just get in the car. I'll drive you guys back to the Candy Kingdom."

"Hurry LSP," Finn said. "I got this weird feeling in my Heart-Guts."

"Well the drive to the Candy Kingdom is a long one. We won't arrive until late tomorrow afternoon, so you might as well catch some Z's while you can, Finn. Leave the rest to my lumps." She gave a small wink to Finn as he climbed into the back seat of her family's car. "Buckle up. Lumpy Space can be a bumpy ride... haha..."

"Well no duh..." Jake said under his breath.


End file.
